Fender '72 Telecaster Thinline Reissue

Not sure when it was made, or where to be honest.

The features have no doubt been listed to death, but it's the normal 22 frets, two wide range humbuckers, 3 way switch, tone and volume etc. You know the score by now I'm sure.

Suprisingly awesome. For some reason I didn't trust the odd looking humbuckers, and Fender are hardly known for their humbucking sounds, but this guitar had an ace sound to it.

I tried it with a Fender blues deluxe, a 40 watt 2X12 combo and it seemed to combine "Gibsony" elements with a classic telecaster sound. It was both mellower and more powerful at the same time. Rolling back the tone things did get a little muddy however, I can see why some people don't bother using it at all, but the clean sounds were suitably shimmery, and there was enough grind to satisfy all but the more contempory styles.

To be honest I wouldn't reccomend this for heavier stuff since while it could pull it off to an extent, that's not where it excells, but other guitars do excell there.

For blues and bluesy rock this is one of the nicest guitars I've heard,it sounded beautiful unplugged, so I imagine you'd have a fantastic sound if you had the pickups rewound, Tim Mills of Bare Knuckle Pickups would be my first choice, but I'm sure there are other pickup winders out there who could do a good job, admittedly maybe not as good.

The guitar played ok off the shelf, it didn't bowl me over but at the same time it felt comfortable, the action was kinda average, maybe slightly high which is no bad thing on a Fender. There didn't seem to be any obvious flaws but I must admit I didn't take a fine tooth comb to the guitar, so I can't speak for the wiring and blemishes in the finish could have escaped my atention...but neither is affecting playability.

One thing I did notice was having to retune quite often, but this could be down to a badly cut nut, or the tuners, or maybe it's something as silly as the strings never having been stretched.

Telecasters are the hardest guitars on the planet. And even the semi hollow ones are constructed in such a manner as to make destroying one all but impossible without really intending to in the first place, and unless you're slightly mad or called Pete Townsened I doubt you'll attack it with intent to harm.

That said, while it's still relatively hardy, a semi hollow guitar is never as tough as a solid body. The hardwear seemed ok, but I was suspicious of the tuners and nut due to the tuning issues, one or the other is at fault and had I purchased it I'd have investigated that.

The strap buttons are the usual affair...always, alway get strap locks. You could gig this guitar damned hard, and it'd keep coming back for more, but only mugs gig without backups. A string can break, a wire can unexpectedly come loose inside shorting your pickup, it's just not worth the risk of looking a prat on stage.

I've never dealt with fender, so I can't really comment. But there's warranties and stuff, so that's slightly reassuring that had I gone through with the purchase it'd have been covered for a while.

I've been playing about 4 years. My guitars are a '67 SG junior and a tele I made with Warmoth with bareknuckle pickups, and callahan abd schaller hardwear. I have some other guitars but they're less relevant due to them not being "gig worthy". I use Matamp amplification although at the store I used a fender blues deluxe, which suprised me. It's an ace sounding amp so was deffinitely doing the guitar justice.

The only thing I really hate is the tuning issues, if I bought it it'd be with the intention of "hotrodding it" with a Warmoth neck and replacing a lot of parts, and this simpley isn't economical. It had a really good sound though, and the body and wood was in no small part responsible.

Other guitars I tried were an American deluxe tele, which had the most resonant slab of wood I've met, but a medicore neck and terrible fender single coils, and a butterscotch american deluxe strat with fende noiseless pickups. That was the guitar that got bought, though had I been in my friends shoes I'd have gone for this tele.

When you go to buy a Fender, play lots. Out of 10 guitars 9 will be good, but one will knock you back with how good it is, you'll remember that guitar. Not all '72 thinlines will be this good, some will be better. Each guitar is a unique entity, and even runs with a bad reputation will still have a few gems in amongst them.

Made in Mexico sunburst Thinline reissue. It has the two Fender wide-range humbuckers, pearloid pickguard, one tone and one volume control, three way switch, string-through body and non-trem strat-style bridge and saddles (rather than the typical Tele bridge). The body finish shows off the grain of the underlying wood quite nicely, though on the back of mine there is a discoloration in part of the wood about an inch and a half long that is rather prominent, but it doesn't really bother me. The body is much lighter than a standard Tele because of the hollowed out cavity. The neck is nice and chunky and feels substantial in your hands. Vintage style frets (in other words, they're smaller - not medium-jumbo.) The neck has a thick glossy finish on it that was a bit too sticky for me, so I went over it with some 0000 steel wool and now it plays much faster and doesn't feel sticky. Overall the guitar feels very balanced and looks fantastic.

I absolutely love the pickups on this guitar. I know that a lot of people think they sound too dark, but I just turn up the treble a bit on my amp and I have no problems. They're much thicker sounding than typical Tele single coils and they have none of the hum (of course). The bridge pickup actually can get somewhat close to the twang of a standard Tele bridge pickup quite well, but with more bottom underneath it. The neck pickup has a powerful rounded tone that is similar to the neck pup on a Les Paul. I'm not too fond of the middle position with both pickups on because it sounds a little flat, but the fabulous tones available from the other two positions make up for that. The tone is also very resonant due, I'm sure, to the semi-hollow body. In general, it is much more full and rich than a standard Tele, which is what you would expect based on the pickups. I use this guitar through my Fender Blues Jr. and it's a fantastic combination. I have a standard Tele as well, but the Thinline/Blues Jr. combination is more rewarding. I run the guitar through an old Made in Japan Boss Overdrive pedal, a Ibanez Tube Screamer, and a Guyatone digital delay then into the amp. I generally don't have to use either of the overdrive pedals to push the amp with this guitar, which is not the case with my standard Tele which needs the peadals for that extra boost. You can get a solid, powerful lead tone from the bridge pickup and a warm, energetic rhythm tone from the neck pickup. There's never any noise. I love the tone of this guitar!

I bought it used so I don't know how well it was set-up from the factory. When I got it the action was just right for a tele: not too low and not too high. It looks beautiful, apart from the spot on the back of the guitar where the wood has a discoloration about an inch and a half long, but it doesn't bother me.

This is a very solid guitar. I have no reason to think that it will not withstand normal playing conditions.

I've been playing for about 7 years now. I also own a MIM Standard Tele, a 1978 Peavey T-60, a MIM Fender Deluxe Super Strat, a Fender Blues Jr. amp, a Martin 000-15, an old Made in Japan Boss Overdrive pedal, an Ibanez Tubescreamer, and a Guyatone Micro-Delay. If this guitar were lost or stolen I would definitely get another one, but I think I would look around for one in Daphne Blue (which are hard to find but I love the way they look.)

2005 MIM Thinline, Natural Ash, Two Seth Lover Humbuckers, One Vol & One Tone, String-thru Body, came with a soft Fender Gig Bag.

Picked it up a couple of months ago. After many years of not playing I started up again with an acoustic and after a while was of course jonzing for another electric. In my past life I was a strat guy, had owned tele or two tho. Asked a friend w/ MANY guitars what would be a good jack of all trades and he recommended this one (he owns a black MIJ one). I didn't have the time to shop around for a used deal and they had one at the local music shop, so I played it and it beat out most of the comp based primarily on action and playability (i liked the sound and relatively light weight too). Suits my style well as i play mostly "semi-clean" licks - melodic, bluesy, jazzy, country-rock type stuff. Of course Jerry Garcia is my hero. I play it thru my old '65 Fender Super and my new HRD. This guitar does a lot of things well, but only a few things outstanding. More specifically, the neck PU position is very warm and gives a great blues-jazz tone. However, the bridge PU is not bright/hot enough for my taste. The mid position is a nice split sound. I may be hallucinating but i actually think the f hole warms up the sound of the guitar, in the neck PU position at least. It's kinda fun to be able to plink around on it unplugged and actually hear it too. I think this guitar might go from "solid" to "killer" with some new top of the line pickups (just a hunch based on how it sounds unplugged). But it's very playable as it comes stock.

This guitar was set up great at the factory. It was down low. It has a chunky neck that is cool but is taking some getting used to for me. I am not real fond of the laquered neck finish, but have not yet decided whether i will sand it. There was a manufacturing flaw in that the PU poles did not line up with the strings at all, due to a poor routing job i think. Anyhoo, i cut some pieces off some playing cards and jammed them into the appropriate spaces between the pickup and the pickguard/routing and got it a little better lined up. My buddy w/ the black thinline told me i would break strings unless i changed the bridges to graphite. So, i did that. Don't know if it changed anything, but it feels better under the heel of my hand. In retorspect kinda wished i'd gotten the Ferraglides as the black saddles dont really match color-wise. BTW, the Graphtech saddles did have the added benefit of raising the action (was too low for me as it came) because they are so thick/tall they only allow you to set the action so low. Oh yeah, the natural finish on this guitar is beautiful - gorgeous. I guess you've seen the photos. The tophat PU selector has an annoying habit of flying off when it gets brushed by strumming (often). Some people bend these down to avoid that. The jack plate was of course loose and difficult to tighten w/o twist breaking the wiring. Anyhoo, i put DR tite 10s on it after the GT saddles, raised the action, played w/ string length by ear (w/o a tuner) and suddenly the guitar jumped a level in tone and "fullness."

Haven't had it long enough to testify to it's durability. I did buy a cheapo hard shell case for it for $50 new on-line.

I've not dealt with them.

Played of and on for 35+ years. I played in a few local bands way back when. Interesting that jam bands are so popular now cause that's exactly the kind of music i've always wanted to play, but way back then but nobody else wanted to - go figure. I positively love the way this guitar feels in my hands as well as the variety of sounds that can come from it undistorted. I'm still not sold on the PUs tho. They say if you switch out the stock 250k pots for 500k or 1 meg they will liven up. That's a $10 change, so I'll try that before putting in $150 worth of new pickups. On balance I think this is a solid, but not spectacular, workhorse of a guitar that will definitely hold it's own in the value department. If you could pick up a gem of a used one for under $500 you'd be getting a heck of deal/guitar.

I'm leaving this category blank for a reason. The thing I love about Telecasters (I have this one and a USA standard Tele from the mid-80s with a Seymour Duncan replacement in the bridge position) is that they don't have a lot of features. They are simple guitars. Volume, tone, 3-way selector. No fuss, no muss. My amp is a Polytone with Bass, Mid, Treble, Volume, Reverb and a dirty channel I never touch. That's plenty for me. I like simplicity and I believe that good tone comes from the hands, although a nice instrument helps. This is a nice instrument. For example, Teles are great for picking with your thumb or with a pick while rolling the volume knob up and down with your pinkie simeltaneously...giving a steel-guitar-like volume swell effect. I don't know any other guitar that you can do that with as well...it's the simplicity and the ergonomic design that makes it possible. The guitar is solid and well-built. The standard Tele-style bridge is great. Vintage frets, maple neck, 24-frets, full-scale, ash body, f-hole/ semi-hollow. The guitar came with a nice molded plastic hard case. I live in NYC so I generally leave it at home and throw this in a padded gig bag and jump on the subway.

I mostly fingerpick when playing this guitar. My style ranges from folk to jazz to mellow bluesy rock. This guitar is perfect for that stuff. The stuff I play is tonally somewhere in the realm in-between Bill Frisell's "Gone Just Like a Train" record and JJ Cale's "Naturally" (which is probably the closest tonal range this guitar compares to) as well as jazzy stuff like Jim Hall, etc. I play with absolutely no effects through a Polytone Mini-Brute. This guitar is absolutely goregeous. The pickups are humbucking but they are not as fat Gibson humbuckers. You lose a tiny little bit of what Gibson humbuckers give you in terms of bass response but you gain it all back in terms of midrange. Quiet pickups, not buzzy at all. I can get a range of tones from a really warm sound like on Stephen Stills' solo on "Wooden Ships" if I use the neck pickup and roll the tone off...or I can get a real bright, jangly twangy tone like early Jerry Garcia stuff on the bridge pickup with the tone all the way up...and everything in-between. Teles have, in my opinion, any sound I might possibly want to access. It's all about knowing how to get it. I love the way that you can hear each individual string voice clearly...due to the semi-hollow body...and yet you still get the warmth and fatness of a humbucking sound without getting all the tonal washout that you get with Gibson humbuckers...espesically on Gibson solidbody guitars. I was looking for an inexpensive semi-hollowbody guitar that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg like a Pat Martino Les Paul or my buddy's $5k custom axe. This guitar does the job and then some.

This is a MIJ Fender from the early-to-mid 90s...not sure of the exact year. I bought this used on eBay. I've been playing guitar for about 17 years now. I've owned a LOT of great, classic guitars. This is absolutely one of my favorites. I can't believe it was so cheap! The Fender Japan factory is awesome and creates guitars that put the USA stuff to shame. This guitar was shipped to me from an eBay seller and was just about in tune when I pulled it out of the box. I have not had to adjust the action at all. There is a slight rattle in one of the tuners but that'll be an easy fix. The tuners are ok...but they stay in tune so if it ain't broke, as they say. The finish is a light wood-grain. The grain is beautiful and the pearloid pickguard is a nice touch. This guitar looks as pretty as it sounds. It's comfortable and light and is great to play!

The only thing on this guitar that worries me are the tuners but so far so good. I am generally pretty gentle on my gear so I'm not worried about this holding up. It travels well and is fine with a little bumping. But I generally play sitting down and I'm not exactly a basher. I fingerpick and don't really bang on the instrument at all. The finish is nice and seems resistant to scratching. The strap buttons are solid. It's a real solid guitar. As I said, Fender Japan is the best. I'm going to name my first child after them. I would use this guitar on a gig without a backup with great confidence.

Never had to deal with Fender. Since I got it used it's not under warranty and I probably never will. Why buy new guitars? They're way too expensive.

I've been playing for about 17 years. I own two Fender 6-string electric, both Teles, as well as a fretless Jazz Bass and a 62 P-Bass re-issue. All of them save the stock solidbody Tele are MIJ guitars. (My 2nd Tele is a USA model from the mid-80s.) The Japan stuff, in my opinion, beats the USA stuff I've owned hands-down. In the past I've owned several Strats, a couple of Jaguars, a Mustang, a Danelectro 12-string, several Les Pauls (humbucking and P-90 models), a couple of SGs, an Ibanez Artcore ES-style from the late 80s (which is the only guitar of the lot I wish I still had, oddly...who would've thought I'd own a 1971 Les Paul Goldtop with P-90s and then miss an Ibanez?) and a bunch of acoustic guitars including Yamahas and Martins. I'm probably forgetting some stuff. I also currently own a mid-1970s Hofner plywood upright bass which I use for jazz bass gigs. I know music and I'm picky about tone. Right now, in terms of 6-string guitars, I own a Guild acoustic and the two Teles. That's all I want and all I need. One single-coil guitar and one humbucking. Both Teles. I mostly play through a Polytone Mini-Brute but I also own and sometimes break out a 1962 Ampeg Reverbarocket. The Polytone is solid state and real clean. The Ampeg is tube and real warm and nice. The Teles sound awesome through both amps. If this guitar was stolen I'd cry my eyes out and then buy a new one tomorrow. I love everything about this guitar. I've been looking for a guitar to suit my sound and style for a long time and this baby is it. In fact, I'm thinking about buying one or two more of these as backups in the next year or so. The price is right and I love the instrument.

Made in Japane Tele with twin humbucker, semihollow-body, f-hole cut-out, string-thru body (I like this solid part of the design), bolt-on neck (3 bolts), each string with independent height and intonation adjustment at the bridge, shared tone and volume pots.

Independent tone and volume pots would allow more versatility during a song. I like the simple over-all design,

Pick-ups are noisier than I would like. Overall sound is thin on the low end and quite brite at the high end.

I play clean or slightly overdriven. I can't get the warm rich smooth mellow tones I like out of it. In overdrive it sounds kind of empty through my Marshall. It does not suit my music style but it is not the guitars fault.

Finish: The workmanship in the wood is excellent! The grain of all the pieces of wood in the body were matched up perfectly. Only under VERY close inspection can you tell its not a single slab. Qualitiy of the assembly is also excellent. 10 points for Finish!

Action is good but I find the neck somewhat flimsy and can almost be used as a vabrato (contibuting factors: thin neck and 3-bolt bolt-on design).

My low E nut was not cut deep enough initially. When low-E was in tune and intonated a fretted F was quite sharp and became less bad down the fretboard. A local luthier easily corrected the problem for a few bucks.

Pearliod pickguard is kind of cheesy looking.

Body is solid; I would not call this a fragile guitar at all. I prefer a stronger body-to-neck joint.

Output jack was loose and fell out the first week. Its only held in by a sharp pressed in piece of metal that gouges itself into the wood on the inside of the body.

I have no experience with Fender support.

A decent guitar for the money. I bought it as a cheap practice guitar that I could take anywhere and not worry about it. I bought it while I was in Japan on a job. With heavy strings this guitar is loud accoustically (semi-hollow body) so I could practice even when I don't have an amp available.

All of my other guitars are Gibsons (primarily Les Pauls) and this guitar just doesn't compare to what I nomally play. It doesn't suit me and my music though I'm sure many will love it.

My day-to-day guitars: Gibson LP 58 Historic/Reissue, 2 Gibson LP standards and a Gibson LP studio

maple neck swamp ash body two wide range humbuckers..crappy split type tuning keys that are absolutlely terrible...21 frets...i really screwed up on this one...traded a nice USA made kramer pacer for this thing..its a looker however....somewhat anyways..too bad it has that crappy looking pickguard covering up all that nice looking wood..

the tone is pitifull...too muddy for a decent clean...two wimpy for a decent over drive....(this is through a hughes and kettner tube 50) i tried every which way to like this guitar...played with every amp setting i could imagine...and nothing...its flat boring and un inspiring. sorry all you fender lovers...but that is how it is for me...i will never buy or play a fender again. over priced over rated and over produced garbage..and those f##king tuners...ggrrrr....this thing didnt sound good untill i made a new pickguard...because real pickups will not fit in this piece of crap...put in some vintage dimarrzios new volume and tone pots..at 500..and two series/paralell switches for each pickup.....scrappped those damn tuners..and now its a guitar...i even sanded it right down and had it custom painted...looks good now...i made the pick guard from the back of an old busted accoustic guitar..recycle kinda stuff..worked out great..with a bit of body routing to make it all fit...not much fender left in it...and that is a good thing...

this is the only good point and the only reason i aquired it....the neck is truly very nice to play...a bit chunky...but non the less...very very smoothe..and i do like the mirco tilt adjust system..and the bridge in that you can raise and lower each string individually...this guitar sets up very easily..

reliable..thats almost funny..how can a guitar not be....ooh wait....its a fender...could fall apart at any moment....no really..its not a car or anything like that..its a guitar...at least it is now...so what could possibly go wrong unless some one smacks it against an amp..bin playing off and on for 25 years never had one fly apart or spontaniously combust yet...

i am sure that the people at fender are committed to making sure i am happy with their shoddy wares..they routinely call me to make sure everything is all right..at the next board meeting it is my turn to bring the shrimp.

guess i am a bit hard on fender...huh? i bin playing on and off for 25 years...had and have alot of stuff but this guitar at stock is garbage...like i said...too muddy for cleans...too weak for some punch..tuners are crap...big time..fender tries to sell a name based on some kinda mystique that was generated only because they were the first to mass produce guitars and amps...forunately we have alot more choice today..so basically i am saying fender totally sux today...probabby did back then too...but there werent many other choices...if some one stole this guitar they way it was before i fixed it i couldnt care less...but with the mods i made..i would have to purchase a body bag for such said individual..

MIM '03 with features already stated.

I like this guitar, because it has it's own "thing" going. It doesn't sound like a true hollowbody or semi-hollow body, but sort of a blend of a solid and semi-hollow body sound. It's got a little Fender twang in the bridge position, but still has some warm woody type tones in the neck and middle position. I use a 1966 Tremolux amp that I've had since '72 and believe or not a Fender Dyna Touch II
900. The latter weighs 33 lbs. has great effects, sounds almost like a tube type and really portable for an old guy.

This one wasn't too badly set up, but I'm a fair guitar tech, so I set up my own stuff. What disturbs me on many new more expensive guitar are the crappy fret jobs, uneven frets, etc. In other words fret flaws that are hard to fix. The average person can tweak the bridge adjustment, pickup height, and even neck bow, especially since these are individual tastes according to how you want it to feel, sound and play. But when one fret is way too high and needs to be filed to make it playable beyond the say, 8th fret--that pisses me off. Of course your dealer should take care of this or you should get your money back. That said (and gotten off my chest) this guitar has a decent fret job, but I always get my Dremel out and polish the frets on almost every thing I buy. Two guitars that I didn't have to do this to were my PRS and my American Deluxe Telecaster.
Finish was fine except a little too thick.

These are tough as a boot, but you can't use them like a personal defense weapon like you can a regular solid-body Tele.

I don't gig without a backup, but I mainly bring a spare that is tonally different just to change up the tones and keep from being bored.

Hoo cares...I dont and never do deal with the company.

I'm 60, been playing since I was 11, in bands since 13 for money. I still play in 2 bands, one is a country club type variety band and the other is a blues band. Mostly weekend warrior bands, but for many years we were playing 75 times and more a year. I've had all types of guitars: '55 Les Paul, '57 Strat, 3 PRS's, many 335's, etc. blah-blah. Here's what I would like to share: The guitars made today are every bit as good as the vintage ones, if not better. There's no magic in them bubba's...it comes from your fingers. You can make great music with this one as you can say a '52 Tele.
Value for the dollar is exceptional. Great bang for the buck.

Same ol' deal: Mexican thinline with natural ash finish. It is completely stock with the 250k pots and wide range p'ups...and it will stay that way (more on that later). Features wise its a tele, its a basic guitar plus semihollow and humbuckers.

Alright. Im a Nashville professional musician. Im still sleepy from coming in from a sold out show that went til 2am. I know guitars a good tone. I play in a band that requires me to have tones from Duane Allman to Trey Anastasio, Clapton to Adam Levy, and of course....me. Go to www.tylerflowersband.com for samples thought not with this guitar. This guitar is amazing. I bought it as a back up for my 50's reissue Tele...but the thinline steals the show. Ive read that the guitar need to be doctored to get the best tone this, and 500k pots that. Bologna. Last night was the first time since last used my 1968 Deluxe Reverb that I could hear myself. This guitar cuts through and sounds brilliant. More people commented on my tone/playing last night than ever. Guys/Girls you know how important it is to be confident in your guitar's tone when youre in front of a crowd. This guitars tone is rediculously good. I was up against a Semi-hollow guild bluesbird plugged into a EmerySound Stage Baby (killer amp), and a Strat into a Deluxe Reverb....This guitar and my Rivera Chubster smoked them...and I was un-mic'd! My set up is: Guitar>tu2>Keeley 808+>Rumble MOD>Keeley Comp>EBS bass IQ>EB jr>DD5>Rotosphere>Rivera Chubster 40 w/ v30

I have owned PRS's, Fenders, LP's. P-90's, SC's, and Buckers. This is THE guitar that I will take to stage with me. It is by far the best sounding guitar for my band ...at this price point.

Lightning fast neck. I was able to play "face-melters". The guitar feels solid and looks great too inside and out.

we'll see. i'll bring a back up. One minor gripe. While playing with my p'up selector last night, it broke off never to return again. Glue it on.

hahahaha

Ive been playing professionally in town for eight years. Im very pleased with my purchase, and if stolen, I'd file a claim and get another. Coming from a gear trader/seller/buyer...it is rare to hear "Im gonna keep this one"...well this is a killer guitar that is a keeper. 10: Fantasic value

Natural finish Made in Mexico. I have an American Strat, and aside from the action/intonation set-up I can't tell the difference between the USA and the Mexican workmanship.I love it.

THE PROBLEM: My MIM thinline was too dark sounding, and as you all know they don't make replacement pick-ups for the odd-sized stock "wide-range" humbuckers.

THE SOLUTION: Quick, cheap and easy. In an hour, and for under 10 bucks, I switched the volume and tone pots from 250k to 500k and really opened up the sound of the humbuckers. Voila! Keith Fucking Richards forever!

I did some research and found that original thinlines came with "icepick-like" 1meg volume and tones pots. The Made in Japan ones, which everyone seems to think sound a little better than the MIMs use 500K pots(which is fairly standard for humbuckers), and my MIM came stock with 250k humbuckers (which are generally used to dampen the high end on single coil guitars).

No cosmetic difference, don't hesitate to do this.

Factory set-up is what you'd expect. I usually have to redo the action/intonation to accomadte 11 guage strings anyway. The guitar looks gorgeous, and plays like a dream

Fender guitars are pretty bulletproof. Although this is a hollow body so you don't want to kick it around like you would a Strat.

Fender is a great company, I got my Start through the artist relations program several years back. They must have realized I was a has-been-wanna-be because they stopped taking my calls. I got this one from Musician's friend. I use either Harmony Central for advice or the fender Discussion Forum for tech tips.

Ever since I changed the pots on my made in Mexico Thinline, I would never dream of selling it. I would consider trading my natural finish for for a surfgreen, or shellpink but that's as far as I would go.

Today a friend and I went to the local music shop to compare his original 72 thinline to a new 2004 Made In Mexico reissue. From the reviews I've read, I expected to find a very similar sounding instrument. While I must say they got nearly all the aesthetic details down pat, the sound was not what I expected.

First off, we compared the guitars on a new Twin Reverb amp with no effects - just switched the plug between two guitars. Listening to the same phrases played on each, I TOTALLY preferred the original. It just had "balls" - i.e. a very pronounced midbass roundness, solid, yet sweet mids, and a light high end that sort of soars in the highest frequencies.

Both sounded kind of twangy, yet still smooth. The reissue, however, had WAY more high end, and left me feeling empty in the mids and low registers.

Also, the output appeared to be louder on the vintage. Imagine that!

I liked the sound of the reissue. It was nice, and I may even buy one some day. But it was really nothing at all like the real, beat-to-shit warped yellowing pickguard sportin' 72 thinline that David Sullivan plays! And honestly, to look at a worn old 72 up to a shiney new reissue? You know which one I'd pick!

Great looking guitar. Cheap-o tuners and bridge, but if your so damn picky, replace them.

Matched up to the original ALMOST perfectly. The body was EXACTLY the same. Pickguard too. The neck was exactly the same, until you got to the joint. On the reissue, it squares out about 3/4" before the joint, and the vintage was rounded right up to the joint. Feels better that way to me.

The only immediate cosmetic problem was the cheap looking screws on the face of the pickup. They don't line up perfectly and do not fill the wholes in the chrome pickup cover. Just looked sorty chinsy.

I can only assume that a big reason the reissue didn't have the sustain and full tone as the original is the much lighter wood that was used. Not sure what kind either guitar is made of, but the reissue was certainly good bit lighter.

Well David still has all original parts on his 72, so I'd say they're pretty reliable. The pots and switches felt smooth on the new one, it feels like a solid build.

CLINICAL ERRORS in GUITAR COMPARISON:
- vintage: 8 month old strings, with a low E string in the A position also.
-reissue: barely played strings, probably 9's vs. the 10's on the vintage 72 we brought.

David's guitar is 33 years old. I'm sure every other real 72 sounds a little different from his.

I would buy a 72 reissue for the feel of it, but not necessarily for the sound. I'll stick with borrowing David's when I need it!